Not Another High School AU Fic
by Spiderweb Sky
Summary: Yes, people. Because every other high school fic has been missing one key ingredient: zombies.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Why did I do this? I hated high school! *headdesk* Megamind is not mine. Please save your tomatoes to throw at me in a later chapter, when they'll be nice and rotten.

Chapter 1

As she stepped off the city bus in front of her high school that morning, Roxanne new that day would be nothing but trouble. To start, the entire pathway to the front doors was carpeted in rose petals. Not that she saw much of that, as she was literally swept off her feet barely ten steps from the bus stop. There was two things Roxanne could truly say she hated; one was taking the bus as a senior, and the other was being picked up by people with no reason or warning. In the rush of suddenly not having solid ground beneath her, she dropped her coffee, watching the mug fall for a surprisingly long distance to spill on the grumpy bus crowd below.

Deprived of her caffeine, Roxanne decided to fight back, punching blindly at the person gripping her around the waist. "Roxy, whoa, chill out!" The large hands twisted her so she could face her kidnapper, and she wasted no time practically breaking her hand on his jaw. Metro Dude had his usual suave grin on, despite her struggles.

"Wayne!" she half gasped, half screeched. "Put me down! What are you doing?" She glared at the perfect little flip in his hair, refusing to look down. She wasn't particularly scared of heights, but several hundred feet did tend to get a little unnerving.

"It's okay Roxy, I got you," That little line would most likely get most girls in the school to melt, and coupled with his charmingly sparkling blue eyes and football star status some girls might resort to outright fainting. Roxanne swore his too-white teeth had a shiny _ding _noise whenever he smiled.

"What do you want?" she managed to regain her dignity in her voice, although she was clutching at his letter jacket with white knuckles. The early morning air was still crisp and cold, seeping in through her sweater and making her breath fog as they gained altitude.

"I'm here to make your day, baby." The last word seemed tacked on awkwardly, like he had memorized his whole speech but didn't quite believe it. When he didn't elaborate right away, she found herself chewing on her lip to keep the cutting remarks in. His smile faded slightly, and he jerked his head to the side. She followed his gesture, clawing at his coat at little more when she registered how high he had carried her. They were floating just a tad too high for her comfort over the football field, the words "Will you go to prom with me Roxy?" etched into the freshly fallen snow, along with several little hearts around the edges. She guessed he had melted the words with his laser vision.

"Why me?" she blurted. His smile dropped even more. Her saying anything but yes was probably not in his script. "I mean, why not a cheerleader, or maybe the star of the school musical? You could have any girl you want as a date."

They began to sink, mirroring his confusion. "Or the editor of the school paper? Just say yes, Roxy. Please?" The first bell rang, making them both jump. He began to sink faster, the descent resembling more like falling than flying. Roxanne gulped.

"No thank you. You're nice, but I just don't like you that way. Ask Jess, or Ana, or someone." She congratulated herself on sounding so casual as he set her down right next to the front doors. Metro Dude let her waist go and she released her death grip on his coat, even straightening it as best as she could. "Sorry," she offered, ducking into the school.

Right into a waiting gathering of what could be considered the Metro Dude fan club. The two aforementioned queens of the senior class, Jessica and Ana, ushered her into a sort of spray-tan chick-huddle.

"So, what happened?" Jessica asked in honeyed tones, flipping her blond hair over her shoulder maliciously.

"Yes, girl. Details on Metro Dude's relationship status." Ana sounded overly friendly, her dark eyes glaring daggers at Roxanne. Several other girls of varying top clique position squawked for news.

Well, the news was her forte. "I said no," Roxanne attempted to duck out of their clutches, aware that the late bell was going to sound at any minute. That was probably the third most thing Roxanne hated; being late. And without her usual cup of coffee, she was most likely going to be late to everything all day. Perfect.

"GASP, no!" Jessica or Ana; or some other member of the fan club reacted in horror. Roxanne couldn't really understand why; hadn't she left Metro Dude single for one of them to dig their perfectly manicured nails into? "How is that even possible?"

"I'm gonna be late, guys. Gals. Whatever." Roxanne managed to disentangle herself from the group, half running down the hall to her first class. If she wasn't stopped again, she wouldn't be late. Probably. She picked up her pace, her backpack slipping off her shoulder. Rumors, it seemed, were faster, however. A surge of mutterings picked up around her as she ran.

"Did you hear? He totally dumped her."

"... felt so inadequate next to him she had to say no!"

"And then she threw her coffee right at me!"

Roxanne decided to skip visiting her locker so as to avoid the whispers drifting around the still crowded hall way. She kept her focus forward, glued to her classroom door.

"... so romantic! She must be crazy."

"She totally screamed like a girl!"

"Roxanne?" She swept past that voice too, not wanting to hear more insults at turning down the most popular kid and resident hero. She just wanted to get to her advanced English class.

"See, I told you you'd become invisible with that hood up." Roxanne pretended she didn't hear this along with every other conversation. Her classroom was twenty feet away. Could she make it without being stopped by every weirdo at Metro High?

"Whatever. I'd rather be invisible than stared at." The boy sounded so dejected, she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder. Even though they had been attending the same school for almost four years, it was still slightly jarring to see the skinny blue alien and a fish in a robotic monkey suit standing in the hallway. The fish always looked cheerful despite being tripped over constantly in the traffic between classes, but he had a less than excited frown on as he stared up at his friend.

Megamind did indeed have his hood pulled over his huge head, and for a brief second Roxanne wondered where he had gotten a jacket with a hood big enough to fit. The hood cast a shadow over his face as he slumped into the jacket, although a scowl was still visible on his blue chin. He had been shooting up recently, going from embarrassingly short to less short, and as a result he was skinner than ever. His twiggy frame was only accentuated by his fondness for black skinny jeans and his various too-small death metal t-shirts. As if he could feel her eyes on him, Megamind stared to raise his head. A wave of people quickly blocked him from sight, and Roxanne walked headlong into someone else.

"Oh, I'm..." she started to apologize but stopped when she saw who it was. "Seriously?"

"Roxanne listen," Metro Dude reached down and grabbed her hand. Would she ever make it to her class? His hands were as burly as the rest of him, but still surprisingly gentle. "It's almost, like, required that the hero date the reporter. And since you're the editor... I just thought... Look, this is meant to be. It's destiny."

Roxanne shifted her backpack on her shoulder, attempting to shuffle around Metro Dude. "I'd like to believe we choose our own destiny." A look of confusion passed across Metro Dude's square jaw, crinkling at the corners of his blue eyes. "I think you're asking me out because you feel you have to, not because you want to," she clarified. "It just doesn't feel right, ok? No hard feelings."

Metro Dude slumped, and she took the opportunity to skirt around him. The bell rang, but she paused, leaning in the doorway of her class. "Cheer up, hero kid. They're plenty of other girls who are literally clawing at one another for the chance to date you."

Since Metro Dude had an almost incurable sense of optimism, he brightened visibly at her words, winking as he blew out of sight. In the wake of Metro Dude's sudden disappearance, Roxanne found herself locked eyes with Megamind. He was still on the other end of the empty hallway, his Nirvana hoodie pulled up over his head. It became a staring contest down the length of the hall, neither wanting to be the one to look away first. Megamind shuffled awkwardly, his Converses squeaking on the linoleum as he chewed his lip. Roxanne opened her mouth, although she wasn't sure what she wanted to say.

"Get to class, ruffians!" the booming voice of Principal Xiphias made both teenagers jump. The stout man rolled out of his office, looking today like a large pink bowling ball in his cheap polyester suit. Even through Megamind was no giant, the incredibly round man had to reach up to smack the back of his head. "No hoods, delinquent! And put that fish in your locker!" Megamind scowled, but he pushed the hood off his huge blue skull and skulked out of sight, the robot trotting at his heels like an obedient puppy.

"Ritchi!" Principal Xiphias roared, and Roxanne ducked into her classroom before he burst a blood vessel.

* * *

Megamind had always fascinated her, in the way that a fender-bender outside a cafe you were eating at was interesting, or watching an acquaintance's Christmas tree burn down. He was a small disaster all on his own, but since he had no friends besides that weird talking fish in a robot... thing, watching him mess up was in a detached kind of way. He had never gained instant popularity the way Metro Dude had, his alien qualities shunned instead of revered.

And he was always in trouble. Roxanne knew this perhaps better than anyone else, as she had written most of the stories of his pranks and property damage for the school newspaper, stories that she knew no one read past 'Metro Dude saves the school again.' The puzzling thing was, it never really seemed intentional, more like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or maybe a science experiment blowing up in his face.

She had actually heard her AP Physics professor admit to the AP Chemistry teacher that Megamind could be teaching an advanced college course, and that he would take it. The same Chem professor had added that if Megamind had ever asked for something highly reactive, such as rubidium, he would have given it to him just to see what he would make with it. This terrified her as much as it intrigued her.

More than once she caught herself wondering what he was doing here, wasting his time in high school when he could be designing rockets for NASA. She watched him across the cafeteria, at a table in the corner by himself, scribbling in one of his notebooks. The school lunch he pushed around absently with his plastic fork, mixing peas into his lumpy gray mashed potatoes. Over the course of the entire lunch period, Roxanne watched him take three or four bites, each one followed by a look of revulsion. Okay, so that wasn't exactly strange behavior; she had learned long ago to pack a lunch instead.

He had put his hood back up, but the pink softball of a principal had been patrolling and he had yanked it off his blue skull again. Other than a death glare at Xiphias' retreating back, Megamind hadn't even noticed the world around him.

Neither had Roxanne, it seemed. "Roxanne! Sheesh, girl. What are you looking at?"

"Hmm, what?" Roxanne blinked at her elbow, nestled in her salad.

"I was just wondering about Prom. Ya know, if you're still planning on going, what with Metro Dude dumping you and all." Her best friend Sarah straightened in her chair, thrusting her chest out as several members of the football team walked by. Two boys took the advantage to not-so-discreetly stare down her shirt, but otherwise remained aloof. "You sick or something?" Sarah asked through her clenched teeth smile.

"No, I just..." Roxanne wiped salad dressing off her arm, a little irked at the twisting of the morning's events. "I don't really see the point of it. It's all so contrived, you know?"

Sarah beamed at her, a tinkling laugh falling out of her pretty red lips for the benefit of a boy from the swim team one table over. "No, I have no idea what you're talking about. This is _Prom._ The most important night of our lives, remember?"

"It's just high school," Roxanne started, but she was interrupted by an overweight freshman bouncing up to her table. "Hi Hal," she sighed.

Hal grinned, his red hair forming a frizzy halo around his face, still chubby with baby fat. "Oh hey Roxy." He scratched absentmindedly at the acne on his cheek. "I just heard the news, and I wanted you to know that Metro Dude is total suck-sauce."

"Suck sauce?"

"Yeah, ya know, for dumping you like that!" He leaned in uncomfortably close to her. "And I don't want you to feel too bad. He obviously doesn't care about you like I care about you." He cringed at his last statement. "I mean, not care about you, like a relative, or like a romantic sense, I mean, I care about you! Like a really, really good friend cares. But I can be more than a friend!" Roxanne and Sarah exchanged exasperated glances as Hal floundered. "I was just like, you're not going to the Prom with anyone now, and I wouldn't want you to go alone, so what I mean is," he took a breath and got eerily still and serious. "Will you go to Prom with me?"

"Oh, um." Roxanne felt her mouth go dry at the very thought. She had been friendly to all her new staff at the school paper in the beginning of the year, but Hal had developed an annoying attachment to her. He was a nice guy, just too... clingy for her tastes.

"You can't ask her as a freshman!" Sarah cut in. "You're not even invited. You can't get in."

Roxanne frowned at her friends rudeness, as she didn't need saving. "That's nice Hal, but I'm not going."

"Oh you're not going either? Cool, 'cause I was just saying how lame it's going to be. I mean, balloons in the gym, how dumb is that?" Roxanne could practically hear Sarah grinding her teeth at Hal, and mercifully he was backing away. "And cummerbunds. Who needs those? But if you're going to be free that night..." he bumped into another table and the occupants made disapproving noises as their drinks spilled. Hal tried to play it off by walking away quickly. "I'll be free too! I'll call you!"

"Ugh." Sarah went into a very repetitive rant about Hal that Roxanne had heard a million times before. She glanced down at her salad, realized that it wasn't salvageable from her elbow attack, and moved to toss it in the trash. That's when she noticed Megamind watching her. It wasn't creepy, the way Hal sometimes did in paper meetings, and it wasn't menacing the way the rest of the school seemed to believe. Rather, he was watching her with the same distracted interest that she had been watching him with earlier.

He caught her staring and quickly scooped up his books and hardly touched lunch. As he hurried to dump his tray and leave the cafeteria, someone Roxanne recognized as a linebacker for the football team blocked Megamind's way, accidentally-on-purpose spilling his entire can of Mtn. Dew all over his sweatshirt and textbook. Megamind could do nothing but stand there with his mouth open as fizzing liquid soaked into his chest.

"Oh! Sorry buddy," the guy said sarcastically, crushing the empty can on Megamind's large forehead. Megamind batted his hand away angrily.

"Watch it, you slug-faced Cro-Magnon!" Even though the guy outweighed him by about ninety pounds, Megamind still glared his best up at him. The football jock towered over the little alien, glaring back, although he also had a cruel smile twitching about his lips. The tension in the room cranked up as everyone fell silent.

"What was that, freak?"

Megamind's eyes narrowed. Roxanne realized she was holding her breath, crushing her wilted salad bowl between her hands. It was plainly obvious who would win if any punches were thrown, and for whatever reason, Roxanne did not want to see the skinny blue kid get the crap beaten out of him.

"I said-"

"Ookay, that's enough, guys." Roxanne was on her feet and tugging at Megamind's arm as the jock cracked his knuckles. Megamind gave her a wide-eyed look of surprise that Roxanne felt she was mirroring. Why was she helping him out all of a sudden? Four years of basic recognition in the halls and just today she was saving him from a fight he would most certainly loose? The cafeteria broke out in mutterings that Roxanne ignored.

"Hey, aren't you Metro Dude's whiny ex-girlfriend? What, do you think that saving this twerp will convince him to take you back?"

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "We weren't going out, so no one dumped anyone. We're just friends." She pulled Megamind back a step by his soaking sleeve so she was standing in between the two. He was still giving her a confused yet wary look, and she mouthed 'back off' at him angrily.

The jock unexpectedly grabbed her waist, dragging her towards him. If she was picked up again she was going to make sure her punch hurt this time. "Whatever. You're just some irritating bitch with a thing for weirdos. Are the rest of us normal people not good enough for ya?"

"What the hell?" Roxanne exclaimed, pushing against his chest to try and free herself. Where were all the teachers? Hell, where was Metro Dude, the supposed hero and her fake ex?

"Let her go!" Megamind joined in her attempts to get out of the jerk's grasp. The huge guy gave Megamind one push with his beefy arm, and he toppled over, his books spilling across the floor. Megamind scrambled to his feet and the jock mercifully let go of Roxanne, if only to hold up both fists. The cafeteria exploded with chatter, and a chorus of "fight, fight, fight!" started up. Roxanne stumbled for a few steps, grateful that she had been let go. Sarah appeared at her elbow, either for support or to keep her from diving headfirst into the fray again.

"All right! Break it up!" Principal Xiphias shoved his way through the crowd of students. "You three! Detention after school!"

"But Roxanne didn't-" Megamind started.

"Don't push your luck, punk! Detention!" Xiphias boomed.

"I have weightlifting for the wrestling team after school," the jock whined.

"Fine, you're exempt." Roxanne and Megamind spluttered protests. "But you two! De. Ten. SHION! Today! Now everyone get to class or you'll be joining them!"

In the chaos of the entire cafeteria emptying to avoid the wrath of Xiphais, Roxanne lost sight of Megamind, which bothered her more than it should have. "Girl, let's go!" Sarah pulled her along through the crush of bodies to class. Roxanne followed tiredly.

* * *

Normally, Roxanne had advanced calculus with Megamind. But when she finally made it through double the amount of whispered rumors to her class, he wasn't there. Nor did he show up to their shared physics class. Now that she was thinking about it, she shared half her schedule with Megamind, although he preferred the back corner of every classroom while Roxanne usually sat at the front like a good student.

She wasn't surprised when he didn't show up to psychology, although she was still frustrated. Hadn't anyone noticed his disappearance besides herself? Her professors didn't acknowledge his empty seat, and neither did anyone else. On any other day, Roxanne probably would have been oblivious as well, which only fueled her annoyance at herself. Today had probably been their first real interaction, and he had practically started a fist fight in her defense. Why had she never talked to him before? She could even remembering publishing a few of his controversial yet well written editorials in the school newspaper.

"...Oh! And here he is! Speak of the devil; let me introduce you to the new school counselor, Dr. Mirfak. You could all learn a lot talking to him." Roxanne snapped out of her musing as a tall man with graying hair and twinkling gray eyes sauntered into the room. She couldn't even feign interest. "Hopefully certain blue aliens won't scare him off by blowing up his office." The class chuckled halfheartedly at this, but Roxanne dropped her pen in indignation. What right did a _professor_ have talking about Megamind behind his back like that?

The man laughed twice and smiled at the class. "I don't scare that easily." He cleared his throat and took on a more serious tone, although the smile stayed in the crows feet around his eyes. "I understand this school has some... interesting characters in the student body. My PhD is in the psychology of extraneous individuals, so if you ever want to talk, cliché as it sounds, my door is open. I know that interacting with aliens can be scary and, well, alien," he laughed again, his eyes lighting up like he was the friendliest person on Earth. "You are all welcome to express any fears or stress to me, completely confidentially and anonymously. Come visit some time." He nodded to the professor and left the classroom.

"Dr. Mirfak is here expressly to help our unique problem. I am requiring that all my students visit him at least once. Ask him some psychology questions, folks. That's your homework." The bell rang, but Roxanne stayed in her seat, fuming to herself. Was everyone rude about Megamind? Even though there was two aliens in the school, three counting Megamind's friend in his locker, 'the blue alien' was the only one specifically mentioned.

She delayed putting her stuff back into her backpack as everyone scrambled for the door. Eventually she decided to just sit and wait in the quiet classroom rather than face the scornful rumors out by the lockers. She doodled on her notebook in an absentminded way, wondering mildly if a new rumor had emerged to outshine the Metro Dude relationship/dumping that had been haunting her all day.

It wasn't that she didn't like Metro Dude. He was genuinely caring and nice, just like his teenage superhero personal suggested. Sure, he was a part of the popular clique that Roxanne wasn't fond of, but they seemed to come with the territory that was the football team, wrestling team, basketball team and class politics. She had cemented her place on the school newspaper, and the outcast crowd, freshman year with her scathing editorial on the use of Metro Dude's powers. At the time, he was simply using his super strength and speed to become a star on the football field, and Roxanne had critically observed his overall potential and contributions to the school and the city. She almost had to switch schools after it was published, but Metro Dude had stepped up to the plate by laughing off her editorial and becoming the hero that Metro City loved. She and Metro Dude had even managed to become friends, and he used his popularity to get the other kids to leave her alone.

As for Megamind, he seemed like he wanted to fit in, or even just blend into the wallpaper and not be seen at all. Unfortunately, he was weird and blue and had a giant, humongous head that was an endless source of jokes for the entire school. He had proved that his big head housed a big brain, but in ways that were less than upstanding. He had managed to blow up not one, not two, but three chemistry labs, and flood homecoming in mayonnaise last year alone. He had also managed to design and engineer a robotic suit for his pet fish, but she hadn't seen much of that alien as he was forced to live in Megamind's locker during school hours. She had actually once had an entire conversation with the strange fish, as opposed to Megamind himself. The fish had called himself 'Minion,' and was actually a pretty sweet guy.

Roxanne's pen scratched in the relative silence of her deserted psychology classroom. Just why had Megamind stood up for her anyway? Or maybe the better question was, why did she stand up for him? She could have easily sat idly off to the side like she had been for four years and let Megamind dig himself into trouble again. Why now, why today? She recalled the look he had given her earlier that morning at the opposite end of the hall after she had spoken to Metro Dude. She had been talking about destiny or something of the sort, and he had the same confused expression that Metro Dude had when she mentioned free will. And then when they had locked eyes before Principal Xiphias had ruined everything; he had somehow managed to give her a look that was both woefully heartbroken and hopeful at the same time. She had noticed for the first time that he has a tiny silver stud in one eyebrow. And in the cafeteria, when he seemed so surprised that she was helping him at all...

"You wouldn't happen to know where Mr. Gutierrez's office is, would you?"

Roxanne's pen shot across her paper, leaving an uneven line across her doodles. "What?" The new school counselor, Dr. Mirfak or whatever, was sticking his head in the door. Maybe if she had been able to drink her coffee this morning, she would have been able to pay better attention all day. "It's uh, three up from the end of this hall, I think."

"You're Roxanne, aren't you? The editor of the school paper?" He straightened and took one step inside the classroom. "I've read some of your articles, they're really well done."

"You think so?" Roxanne allowed the hint of a smile to tug at the corners of her mouth.

"Yes. I've heard you've had quite the busy day today." Her smile dropped like it was weighed down with bricks. Dr. Mirfak held up his hands like her glare was a gun. "It must be hard to endure all those rumors when all you did was say no to a date."

"Huh?"

"Come on, Roxanne, give some of us here credit. It's written all over the football field in ten foot letters."

"Oh... I guess." She fidgeted uncomfortably in in her chair.

"I've also heard that you were involved in a fight. Is that true?" He dropped his hands and clasped them behind his back. His tone wasn't patronizing, but she didn't trust him. He sounded more like what she was trying to become, an unbiased reporter, seeking truth.

"Principal Xiphias stopped it before anything happened."

"How about that pink suit of his, huh? What a riot." Roxanne didn't smile, aware that she was probably being psychoanalyzed throughout their entire conversation. "You're a good kid, Roxanne. Don't let _anyone_ drag you down." The way he emphasized 'anyone' suggested that he had someone specifically in mind. Roxanne could guess who. He nodded to her like he had to her professor and stepped out of the classroom again. Roxanne furrowed her eyebrows at the back of his gray head, unsure of how she felt.

She turned her attention to her notebook with a sigh. She was going to be late for detention, and even though it was a punishment, she still hated not being on time. The cover of her notebook caught her eyes as she packed it away. Her hand had doodled while her mind was elsewhere; dotting it with tiny stars and planets, a little spaceship zooming over the logo and a long, dark line bisecting the whole thing. She shook her head and shoved it into her backpack. Could her day get any more bizarre?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hmm. I've gotten interesting feedback on this one. Mostly surprise. It seems that most people in this particular fandom are not usually exceptionally impressed with high school fics, yet they still bother to read and review mine. It's an interesting phenomenon, although I'm not really sure what it means about anything lol. *hides* Well, here's another chapter. Feel free to pelt me with rotten tomatoes, I totally deserve it.

Chapter 2

Megamind's head snapped up when Roxanne blustered into detention. "You're late," Principal Xiphias growled at her as she took an empty seat in the middle of the classroom. Roxanne rolled her eyes at him. Of course she was late, she was always late to everything. It was like her life was set five minutes behind the rest of the world, and she hated it. She and Megamind were the only ones in detention, other than Xiphias, who looked seriously irritated at having to watch them.

"I'm seriously irritated at having to watch you two delinquents." Xiphias snapped. Roxanne slouched into her chair and glared at the floor. It wasn't her first detention, as it was practically impossible to go to Metro High without getting it at least once. But it had been a full semester since her last visit in the prison-esque room, and she was hoping to make it to graduation without another wasted afternoon. "You know the drill. No talking, just homework. If I catch you even _thinking_ about talking, it's another detention. Got it?" Roxanne narrowed her eyes at the floor, and two desks over, Megamind crossed his arms. "Good." Xiphias plopped into the office chair behind the big desk in the front of the room and mopped his balding round head with a handkerchief. After a few seconds pause, Roxanne stiffly bent to retrieve her homework from her backpack. Megamind unwound his arms from his torso and whipped out his notebook that she had seen him writing in at lunch. He flipped to a page somewhere in the middle and started some new sketch with vigor.

Roxanne took her time arranging her stuff, aligning the side of her papers with the edge of the desk with precision. When she was certain she couldn't waste any more time doing that, she propped her head in her hand and started idly spinning her pen on her fingertips. Her eyes stared through her homework blankly. Maybe she should write another editorial. It had been a while since she reported on Metro Dude; she could title it 'We're Not, and Have Never Been, Dating,' by Roxanne Ritchi. Or maybe 'Megamind; the Boy Behind the Blue.' Nah, that sounded dumb. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Megamind watching her pen spin on her fingers, transfixed. She stopped and he blinked, quickly returning to whatever it was he was scribbling in his notebook.

It was uncomfortably silent. The candy bar wrapper Xiphias was fiddling with sounded extra loud, each crinkle echoing around the room. Megamind's pen scritched across his paper, and the ticking of the clock was obnoxious in it's consistency. Roxanne considered screaming to break the silence, but luckily before she could the door burst open and Coach Lyra burst in.

"Xiphias," she barked, dragging some kid behind her by the scruff of his shirt. "I caught this one smoking pot out under the bleachers. You need to write him up." A distinctly skunky smell wafted into the room, and Xiphias wrinkled his nose, a gleeful gleam in his beady eye.

"Very well," He hoisted himself to his feet, not looking much taller than when he had been sitting down. "You!" He pointed and glared at Roxanne and Megamind. "Stay put. No talking!" He sent one last glare at the pair and waddled out of the room. "Get that expensive new counselor, Dr. Whats-his-face! It's time he starts doing what I'm pay-" The door cut off the rest of his booming ramble.

As soon as the door was shut, Megamind turned casually to Roxanne, leaning on his elbow and quirking a dark eyebrow at her, the little silver stud flashing. He continued to stare at her with one eyebrow raised until she finally said, "What?"

"I think you know what," he raised his other eyebrow and leaned back in his seat. He had a fresh cut on his lower lip, and a faint purple bruise was forming on his chin.

"Why were you staring at me earlier?" She lifted her head from her hand to scowl at him better.

"I dunno, you were staring back!" he shot, flustered. "Why did you try to stop the fight?"

"Because!" she shot back. "But it looks like it was pointless now, wasn't it," she waved her arm, gesturing at his bruised chin. He sucked on his split lip for a second, shuffling his notebook self-consciously.

"Thanks," he said grudgingly, after a few minutes pause. She leaned into her desk, annoyed at how the conversation was going. She was supposed to be talking to him in a calm and composed manner, and instead they were snapping at each other. However, he brightened and leaned over to her conspiratorially. "You want to get out of here?"

Roxanne glanced at the door. "Won't Xiphias get pissed and just give us more detention?"

"Nah, he's already forgotten about us, trust me." Megamind shoved his notebook into his backpack and threw it over his shoulder as he stood. "We just have to be back like five minutes before it's over." Roxanne stared at the door, her leg bouncing on it's own accord. Megamind sighed. "Don't you ever get tired of doing everything right and you still get in trouble for it?" Her gaze slowly transferred from the door to Megamind. He grinned at her and winced when it stretched the cut on his lip. Right when it seemed like he was going to shrug her off as a lost cause, Roxanne made a decision. She stuffed her untouched homework back in her bag, shouldering it as she joined Megamind.

He smiled as best he could with his cut as she sidled up next to him at the door, the tips of his ears purpling as their shoulders touched. "Okay, let me go first in case Xiphias is out there," He cracked open the door and poked his giant head out. It seemed they were in the clear, because he smiled back at her and snaked his skinny body out the door. Roxanne followed, a little thrill going through her. They half ran, half skulked through the hall, tiptoeing past the Principals office. Inside the muffled roar of Xiphias could be heard. Megamind was right; it sounded like they had been entirely forgotten about.

"Where are we going?" Roxanne whispered. They had around two hours to burn, and if she was honest with herself, she could only think about spending that time in the newspaper office. Was she that much of a loner?

Megamind shrugged. "First we should go to my locker to let Minion out," he said, nodding at the janitor sweeping up the general litter from the day. The janitor watched them creep past, uncaring. "He's been in there all day."

"You haven't let him out yet? But you weren't in class at all after lunch!" Roxanne hissed at him. He frowned, looking torn between exasperation and flattery.

"Well, I was a bit preoccupied with-" he sucked in a breath as behind them the door to the Principals office creaked open. Roxanne and Megamind froze for a second, but then he grabbed her hand and pulled her in an almost-sprint to the end of the hall and around the corner. They flattened against the wall, both attempting to hold their gasping breaths as they listened to the conversation down the hall.

"... no reason to call the cops, really David." Dr. Mirfak was saying. "I'll just hold him in my office while you contact his parents."

Roxanne realized her hand was still in Megamind's, and she exchanged an adrenaline-fueled excited glance with him, her heart pounding at the close call. "Oh crap! The counselor's office is down here!" she whispered, and they were off and running again. Roxanne found herself giggling as they stumbled and skittered around another corner, clutching Megamind's arm for balance as his Converses squeaked on the linoleum. They continued down hallways, putting a few wings between themselves and the authorities. Eventually, the run became a jog, and then a light stroll, both of them panting and grinning. Roxanne's hand was still clasped in Megamind's blue one, and he watched them swing between them.

"So when you said you were preoccupied..." Roxanne began, and Megamind dropped her hand.

"That guy and his stupid goons caught me after lunch and trapped me in his gym locker." Megamind wrinkled his nose. "All afternoon with the dude's jockstrap. Not one of my better days."

They reached his locker and Megamind spun the dial, still looking disgusted. "I'm sorry," Roxanne said awkwardly. Megamind gave a noncommittal grunt. "How did you get out?"

"Some tall gray guy let me out halfway through last period." Megamind shrugged and opened his locker. "Guess he was the only one who noticed I was missing. 'Sup, dude," he added when the robot monkey put down the book he was reading and hopped out of the locker. The little guy stretched, although Roxanne was at a loss as to why a robot needed to, the fish inside the head grinning toothily up at them.

"Hey Boss. Hello Miss Ritchi," Minion waved cheerily at her and Roxanne returned it.

"That would have been Dr. Mirfak," Roxanne said. Megamind banged his locker shut. "The new counselor. He showed up to psychology and said some weird stuff to me. It must have been after he let you out." Megamind picked a seemingly random direction to walk, and Roxanne and Minion fell in step next to him.

"Weird like how?" Minion asked, trotting to keep up in his little body.

"I don't know, it was just weird." Roxanne thought for a minute. "He knew like, everything that was going on in the school, even all the rumors and stuff."

"Yeah, he was strange to me too." Megamind rubbed his arms. It was then that Roxanne noticed his hoodie was missing; he was only in a thin black t-shirt with the Batman logo on it. "He knew that the last explosion to the counselor's office was an accident. No one believed me when I told them."

"I believed you, sir," Minion piped up. Megamind rolled his eyes.

"You were _there_."

"It was an accident?" Roxanne tried to catch his eye, but he was looking forward with determination.

"Well yeah. It's not my fault that quack wanted to prove I was dangerous by turning on my science fair project. I told them that the nuclear reactor was unstable without the proper materials, which the school was unwilling to give me-"

"You built a nuclear reactor?" Roxanne's voice went up a pitch.

"Yeah, I wanted a way to cleanly power a small robotic limb, like a prosthetic leg, but it's hard enough getting the right tools for one reactor, let alone two-"

"Two?" Roxanne nearly shouted.

"There's one powering my suit," Minion pointed proudly to some machinery on his back.

"It's perfectly safe," Megamind hurried to reassure her at the shocked look on her face. "The fusion and fission emissions are completely contained. You'll get more radiation from a microwave."

"Huh?" Roxanne blinked. "When did you have the time to make all of this?"

Megamind smiled at her, his eyes lighting up with delight. "I invent things all the time; in class, in detention, and last year Mr. Allen, the Chem professor, let me set up a kind of lab in his back room. That's how I blew it up twice." He an Minion exchanged knowing glances, the excitement still unrestrained in Megamind's green eyes.

"You know, I wrote a piece on that," Roxanne said hesitantly. "About how villains are who we make them out to be, and maybe it wasn't your fault, or like, it wasn't what we thought it was." Megamind looked up at her in surprise. His eyes really were a striking shade of green, unlike anything she had ever seen. The pointed stud in his eyebrow was cute, although those eyes didn't really need any accessories. "This was before I became editor, so it was pushed for something about Metro Dude winning football trophies and saving kittens or whatever. It's still on my flashdrive, if you want to look at it." He should seriously stop looking at her, she found it hard to concentrate when she was drowning in emerald.

"Could I?" His voice was quiet. "No one has ever given me the benefit of the doubt, so to speak." Roxanne nodded and fished in her backpack for the flashdrive. He took it carefully, regarding it like it was made of a precious gemstone.

"So where are we going?" Roxanne said casually, brushing off Megamind's brief insecurity. "We still have," she checked her watch, "an hour and a half until detention ends."

"We usually just hang out in the Boss's Lab," Minion chirped. The little metal monkey feet clinked happily on the floor.

Megamind smirked. "Not many people know about it."

A thought struck her. "Hey Minion, why don't you hang out in the lab instead of his locker? Or at home? Isn't it boring in there?"

The fish waved his fins in a 'so-so' manner, and the robot body shrugged. "I read a lot of books, and this way I get to see the Boss in between classes. I would be just as bored in the lab, or back in the prison."

"Prison?"

"Here we are," Megamind held the door to the basic Chemistry classroom open for Roxanne and Minion, closing it as quietly as possible behind them. "C'mon," he bounced around her to what she always assumed was a supply closet. He made a big show of pulling out a set of keys and unlocking the door, opening it with a sweep of his hand. "Welcome to my secret lair."

Roxanne stepped inside. It _was_ a supply closet; the walls stocked with chemistry and physics supplies, a small table in the middle cluttered with half-finished robotics and computer projects; the only chair stacked with advanced textbooks for every science discipline. He set the textbooks on the floor and glanced around the room uncomfortably. "It's a little small..."

Through the little window on the classroom door, Roxanne could see someone walk by. She grabbed a chair from one of the desks and wrestled it next to Megamind's, letting the supply closet door close behind her. "That's okay." She picked up a discarded computer chip and examined it. "So what now?"

Megamind opened and closed his mouth a few times, looking lost. "I've got some playing cards," Minion offered. Megamind let his shoulders drop in relief as Minion pulled out a deck of cards from a little compartment in his robotic suit. Megamind fumbled with an ancient boombox on a shelf, skipping over a death-metal-screamo song to what sounded like Blink-182.

"Awesome." Roxanne helped clear a space on the table and folded one leg under her in her chair. Megamind sat gingerly next to her, their elbows brushing, and Minion perched on the edge of the table, dealing out their hands. Their game of Texas Hold-em was as hilarious as it was informative, and Roxanne learned a lot about the two aliens. For instance, Megamind had absolutely no poker face whatsoever, cackling manically when he had a good hand and making faces at bad ones. Minion turned out to be the best of them, and the banter between them was funny and smart.

After a while Minion either grew bored of winning, or subtly was giving Roxanne and Megamind some one-on-one time. He pulled out a book and settled in the corner while they played Slap Jack, loudly congratulating themselves on every win.

Roxanne shrieked in delight as she beat Megamind to a card, his hand on top of hers. "How are you accomplishing this?" he asked, pinning her hand to the table.

"I just rock," Roxanne laughed. "Let go!"

He grinned and raised his eyebrow again. "No way. I think you're cheating."

Roxanne tugged on her trapped hand. "You wish!" she turned to grin at him, finding their faces suddenly close. His nose was practically touching hers. He realized this at the same time, his eyes going wide and purple flooding his cheeks. Roxanne inexplicably found herself leaning in, the grin sliding off her face. The cut on his lip had scabbed over in a dark green color, and the bruise beneath it was dark and angry. Megamind swallowed, his eyes flashing from her lips to their hands and back. Roxanne stopped before they touched, heat rushing to her face. "Um, it's probably about time for us to get back to detention..."

Megamind let out a shaky breath that drifted across her cheek. "Right, right." Neither of them moved. Over on the shelf, a song ended and another one started up as his long nose grazed against hers. Minion shifted ever so slightly in his corner, gears whirring internally. The sound was enough to jolt Megamind and Roxanne apart, each avoiding eye contact.

"Uh, we should hurry-"

"Yeah, Xiphias might blow a gasket if we're not there-"

"Sorry, let me just get by-"

"In your way, it's so tight in here-"

Megamind scrambled to collect the cards and Roxanne attempted to untangle her bag from the chairs. In the chaos, several things fell off the table and the boombox began skipping. Megamind hurried to slap it off and gather his projects on the floor, and Roxanne stumbled out of the supply closet. "Bye Minion, I'll come get you in a few!" Megamind yelped as he tripped his way over the clutter to join Roxanne.

"Yeah, see ya Minion, we should play poker again sometime!" Roxanne added, righting the extra chair and putting it back in it's usual place as Megamind scrabbled to get his feet underneath him. Minion just smiled at the pair of them, waving knowingly as the door slid shut.

Megamind cleared his throat and adjusted his t-shirt. "Okay. So, detention?"

Roxanne nodded and checked her watch thoroughly so she could avoid looking at him. "We have eleven minutes. Perfect amount of time to make it back." They slipped back into the hallway, walking quietly but quickly. Roxanne stared straight ahead, but her eyes kept betraying her, flicking over to Megamind every few seconds. What just happened? They bonded over a single detention slash card game and she was going to kiss him? Had she finally snapped and gone insane, and everything that had happened today was nothing more than a nightmare in her head? For some reason she hoped not. She also inadvertently wished for another reason to hold his hand, which was weird, because they had only ever talked in short one sentence interactions before today. For all the articles she had written about him, or had at least mentioned him, she had only asked for his opinion a few times. And even then, he had answered in as few words as possible.

Megamind peered around a corner before they continued, and Roxanne furrowed her brow at the back of his head. For all of freshman year, as she recalled, she had pretty much assumed he was mute because he never spoke, not even when he was called on. That had changed over the years; in some classes the trick was getting him to shut up as he tended to ramble on intellectual subjects beyond her grasp. In fact, the first time she had ever heard him speak was after she had published that editorial about Metro Man, and all he had said was something along the lines of, "I'm glad someone is brave enough to tell the truth." She had waved him off, at the time more worried about her popularity, or lack thereof, to acknowledge him.

Roxanne remembered just in time that Dr. Mirfak was definitely in his office with the pot-head kid, and he had to know she was supposed to be in detention. The office had been remodeled with lots of glass and swanky leather chairs after Megamind had blown it up. That is, she corrected herself, been present at the explosion, but in no way initiated it. "We can't go that way," she said, grabbing his scrawny arm.

"Crap!" He whispered back. "That's right; I almost forgot. Okay, let's cut by the gym and through the locker room." She had to let go of his arm as they darted across the end of the hall.

"The _boys' _locker room? No way, isn't like, the basketball team in there today?"

"I think it's wrestling this time of year, and I don't think practice is over for a while. Why, are you worried you might see something?" He turned to smirk at her and she blushed, punching him playfully on the arm.

"No, I just think it'll be awkward as hell. You go though the boys', I'll go through the girls'."

"Doesn't that only let out into the gym?"

"Oh yeah. Who designed this school, a sexist toddler with a crayon? Wait, how did you know? Never mind, don't answer that." They approached the locker room and Roxanne hesitated at the little man symbol on the door. Megamind pushed it open and stopped when he realized she wasn't following him.

"I used to like, memorize blueprints," he tilted his head in, his eyes lighting up at her. "It's not as bad as you think, I swear. Or you could go back past the counselor's office."

Roxanne squared her shoulders and pushed past him. "As if. That guy would probably try to psychoanalyze me again." Megamind caught up with her, leading the way past rows of locker banks, many of them half open with soiled clothes spilling out. He was right, it wasn't as bad as she thought; it was worse. The whole place had a curious smell of dirty socks, urine, mold and jock straps, and it seemed as if all the mud and slush from outside had migrated to converge across the floor. Roxanne felt her lip curl as they passed the showers, and Megamind actually started to laugh under his breath at her.

She was just about to remark about his under-exaggeration at the state of the place, or suggest that they just turn around and put up with the new counselor, when a shout echoed throughout the locker room.

"Dude! There's a chick in here!" Roxanne gritted her teeth in embarrassment, and Megamind looked equally startled.

"Holy shit, and that blue freak who spilled your soda!" This time it was Roxanne who grabbed Megamind's hand, running blindly towards where she hoped the exit was.

"Hey where you going, creep? Come back!" The laughter of what sounded like three very large, testosterone-fueled jocks filled Roxanne's ears, and the pounding of feet as they chased after the pair.

Megamind took the lead, leaping over a bench and smashing against a locker bank as they tried to turn a corner at a full sprint. Roxanne was a little more nimble, letting go of Megamind's hand to ricochet off the lockers. She could see the door ahead of them, and she focused on it, pushing her legs to run faster.

Megamind glanced over his shoulder to make sure she was keeping up, his eyes widening as two large bangs erupted where the jocks slammed into the lockers behind them. Roxanne let out a sort of gasping yelp as the third jock appeared at the end of the row of lockers, effectively blocking their escape.

For being small and scrawny and slightly malnourished looking, Megamind could certainly move when he wanted to. He barely even slowed, faking left and dodging right. The linebacker from lunch was too slow and his arms closed harmlessly on air as Megamind slipped by. Roxanne simply jumped over his leg on his other side before he could recover. Together they burst out into the hallway, not caring how much noise they made.

"I frickin' HATE that guy!" one of the football players yelled as they too blundered into the hall. Out in the open, it became obvious how little athleticism both Megamind and Roxanne possessed. Although they had several seconds' head starts and neither of them had slowed their sprint down the hall, the three jocks caught up easily. Roxanne shrieked as rough hands grabbed her shoulders and pushed her out of the way. She tripped and stumbled, catching herself harshly on the wall.

"Roxanne!" Megamind slowed a step at her yell, turning to look back at her. The jerk in front, Roxanne couldn't tell who it was, full-on tackled Megamind, both of them crashing violently to the floor. His backpack skidded down the hall, the contents spilling out of it. Megamind clawed at the ground, attempting to worm his way out from under the jock and keep running. He managed to get up to one knee, and then the other two jocks caught up. One shoved him into the floor again, and the other raised his fist.

"Stop it!" Roxanne yelled, pushing herself off the wall. She ran forward on shaky legs, wrapping both her arms around the beefcake's raised one, using her entire body weight to hold his arm back. "Somebody help!" She winced as she heard a fist connect with Megamind's head; a dull thud that reverberated in her chest. Megamind's skull hit the floor, and he curled his arms around it, tucking into a protective ball as another fist rained down on him. Roxanne pulled on sweaty t-shirts, her fingernails digging into muscle. One guy simply shrugged her off, his elbow knocking her away. She stumbled back a few steps and fell gracelessly on her behind. "Metro Dude!" she finally shouted in desperation, tears beginning to sting at the corners of her eyes. There was no telltale swoop, no burst of air to announce his presence, though she knew he had some sort of super hearing. She struggled to her feet again, ready to dive back into the brawl even though it was evident to even her that it would be futile. She took a step, another call for Metro Dude on her lips.

And that's when Roxanne was attacked by a zombie.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: ***hides*

Chapter 3

Roxanne Ritchi was not a screaming type of girl. She was not one to shriek at every spider, cry when the wind mussed her hair or flinch away from water. She happened to prefer speed, got thrills from danger and more often than not, got herself into tricky situations because of it. She had no qualms punching people if they invaded her bubble, or running headlong into a situation that was beyond her grasp.

But when the dead weight of a ravenous zombie hit her from behind, and she saw what was chewing her backpack to shreds, Roxanne did not hesitate to let out the most bloodcurdling scream she had in her arsenal. Her scream was apparently so loud and full of terror that three testosterone-fueled jocks hell bent on kicking the crap out of a weird blue kid had reason to abandon their target and jump immediately to her aid. She shook herself out from the shoulder straps, her scream dying off abruptly as she was freed. One jock helped pull her backwards even as she crab-walked away, the other two grabbing the zombie by the arms, out of reach from his gnashing teeth. Roxanne bumped into Megamind's prone figure and stopped, her back pressed up to his stomach and her arms looped over his body.

She vaguely recognized the zombie as the pot-smoking kid from before, only he was a sickly shade of green-yellow, his eyes rolling wildly in their sockets and spittle flying from his mouth. The two jocks tossed him down the hall and he fell through the air like a limp doll, flopping heavily on the floor. He heaved himself up, one shoulder at an unnatural angle, drool dripping down his jaw. Roxanne pressed herself more into Megamind as the insane kid lurched toward them again, a wet sounding growl issuing from his throat. The two jocks seemed to lose their nerve at the same time, simultaneously spinning on their heels and booking it down the hall. Their buddy, the jock from lunch, she noted, crouched behind Roxanne and Megamind, clearly torn on escaping as well and staying to protect the helpless pair. The zombie moved faster than she would have expected, his steps loping and uneven. Roxanne's hand fisted in the back of Megamind's shirt, but just before the zombie could pounce a pair of expensive running shoes landed in front of her.

The way the boy's body soared down the hallway after Metro Dude punched him was an image Roxanne was unlikely to ever forget. His body was contorted around the point of impact, his limbs mangled and his head lolling to the side grotesquely. The pothead kid smashed into the lockers at the far end of the hall, where he drooped to the ground in a crumpled mess. There was a moment of total stillness; Roxanne held her breath, waiting for the kid to stand up and charge again. Nothing happened, and when she could stand it no longer she let out her breath in a huge gust.

Metro Dude turned, exchanging a high five from his jock friend before kneeling down to her level. Roxanne was gasping hysterically, sucking in air like a drowning fish. "Roxy," he said in that hero tone she normally found annoying. She couldn't take her eyes off the boy at the end of the hall, his form dark and still. "Roxy, are you okay?" She knew he was looking into her eyes with concern, but she couldn't focus on anything but the body. Metro Dude touched her shoulder gently and she flinched, snapping to attention. Metro Dude's face was pinched with anxiety, and she found herself flooding with anger. It was somewhat of a relief to be mad instead of terrified, and she let it show on her face for a second. Metro Dude leaned away from her unconstrained rage on instinct.

She could hear voices and footsteps as adults finally came to the scene, but her focus shifted as Megamind groaned under her back. His bony hips dug painfully into her spine as he uncurled from his fetal position and Roxanne jumped at the movement, lifting herself off of him and glancing down. Under her arm, she watched as he struggled to open his eyes, blinking painfully until he could focus on her. "Roxanne?" he mumbled, looking dazed. "I heard you scream, are you okay?" The booming voice of Principal Xiphias filled her ears, but she couldn't concentrate on his words.

"There was... There was a..." she swallowed, regaining composure as Metro Dude stood to meet Dr. Mirfak. "Wait!" Roxanne dismissed the shaky quality of her voice, pulling herself to her feet by Metro Dude's sleeve. He looked distinctly uncomfortable, like he had been trying to sneak away and she caught him. "Don't leave, I'm not done with you!"

"What happened!" Principal Xiphias' voice echoed in the hallway, making everyone jump, even Metro Dude. For a split second Roxanne thought she saw the zombie kid twitch, but it must have been her imagination.

Dr. Mirfak grabbed her shoulders lightly. "It's okay now, Roxanne. You're safe." She stared beyond him, watching the jock talked animatedly to the principal, pointing multiple times to the unmoving form of the zombie kid.

"Is he..." she started, but the rest of the question died in her mouth. Dr. Mirfak followed her gaze, the twinkle in his gray eyes going dark at the gruesome sight at the end of the hall.

"I'm not sure." he said honestly, and after checking to make sure she wasn't going to faint or something he let go and strolled calmly towards the body.

"Can someone fill me in on what just happened?" Megamind muttered near her knee. Roxanne took a few steps and grabbed Metro Dude again before he could slink away.

"Wayne. Why didn't you come when I called you? What took you so long?" she bit off more questions as her voice trembled.

His shoulders slumped. "I _did_ come when you called. I was halfway across town." His eyes flashed around the entire scene, stopping on Megamind resting on his knees and Dr. Mirfak leaning over the kid at the end of the hall. "I didn't realize how bad it was until you screamed. I'm sorry. I should have been faster." Roxanne's anger at him didn't fade away exactly, but she refrained from any more cutting remarks. He wasn't all-powerful, she had to remind herself.

"... got here just as that kid was attacking these two." The jock's words caught her attention. "Brent and Andy pulled him away, then took off. I stayed to help."

"Wait that's not-" Roxanne began but Xiphias cut her off.

"You two! What are you doing out? Detention!" A vein pulsed in what little amount of neck he had. "Nice job, Sampson," he added, giving the jock a slap on the back.

"We're already _in_ detention," Megamind mumbled, rubbing his head as he stood up.

Xiphias spluttered for a few seconds, unable to form words. "Detention again! Until you graduate!"

"Are you going to give _him_ detention then?" Roxanne waved her arm at the jock Sampson. "He and his buddies were beating up Megamind!"

"No, the zombie beat him up. We just pulled him off," Sampson said reasonably. Roxanne's anger choked her response into an extended growling sort of squeak.

Still massaging the back of his head, Megamind looked warily between Roxanne, Sampson and Xiphias, but he didn't add anything.

Xiphias' little eyes bulged in their sockets, but he took a breath and turned calmly to Metro Dude. "Mr. Scott, did you manage to see what happened here today?"

Metro Dude straightened slightly. "Well, sir..." Roxanne tuned him out, knowing that he had nothing really to add about who beat up whom. She was trying to catch Megamind's eye, but he was listening to Metro Dude's retelling with skepticism.

"Are you okay?" Roxanne asked quietly. Megamind grimaced as he scrubbed at his head, checking his fingers briefly for blood.

"I'm beginning to wonder who hit their head harder, me or Wayne there." He attempted a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes, like he wasn't fooled by his joke either. "A zombie attacked you? Really? Aren't they like, the slowest monsters ever?"

Roxanne ignored his jibe, having just noticed the remains of her backpack. The canvas was torn and even shredded in places, wet with the kid's drool. A few of her books were spilling out, the pages crinkled and a pen had exploded on the entire mess. She kicked at it with the toe of her shoe, unwilling to touch it with her bare skin. Wasn't that how people got the zombie virus in movies? "I was paying attention to other things. And he really was fast. How did you not see him?"

Megamind dropped his hand from his head and stretched his back experimentally. "For a minute there all I saw were stars," he admitted.

Dr. Mirfak rejoined the group solemnly. He and Xiphias shared a short whispered conversation that Roxanne only caught snippets of.

"-already dead-"

"-in the weed, you think?"

"-evidence will prove-"

They straightened, or rather Dr. Mirfak straightened and Xiphias rolled back on his heels with his nose in the air. "Alien!" Xiphias barked. "My office! No, not you," he waved off a very confused Metro Dude. "Sampson, track down the other two. Scott, you can go. And Ritchi-"

"Comes with me." Dr. Mirfak glared as Xiphias for some reason. "She's in shock. They all are." The boys gave Dr. Mirfak equally alarmed looks, then tried to cover their surprise with manly expressions. Metro Dude and Sampson wandered off to the gym, deep in muttered conversation and Xiphias herded Megamind in the opposite direction to his office, leaving Roxanne alone in the hall with Dr. Mirfak and a potentially dead zombie kid.

"I'm pretty sure I know what's going on here," Dr. Mirfak picked up her ruined pack and fished out her books. Roxanne let him stack the ones not dripping in spit and ink into her arms, glancing between him and the zombie distrustfully. "This whole thing is just a matter of wrong place, wrong time, am I right?" Roxanne had never been able to raise one eyebrow, so she settled on a sort of disbelieving eye twitch. Dr. Mirfak shook his head with a small smile and dropped her bag in the trash. "I know there was something else going on before Mr. James over there attacked. The question is, why did you leave detention with Megamind, and where did you go?"

Roxanne shifted her books to rest on her hip. "We were just handing out and listening to music in his chem lab. That's _all_." She regretted her word choice; Dr. Mirfak had proven that he was not ignorant and probably now thought she was hiding something. Like an almost kiss. "Look, can I just go home now? It's been a long day."

Dr. Mirfak nodded, glancing down to the crumpled kid again. "Just be careful who you hang out with. I don't like seeing nice kids like you making bad choices."

Roxanne saved her creeped out expression until her back was turned. Again with the cryptic warnings? She hugged her books to her chest, starting a brisk walk to her locker. Her foot slipped on something, and she looked down, still on edge and ready to run. It was the strap to Megamind's bag, the zipper undone and the contents all over the floor. She knelt, setting her books aside so she could shove all his stuff back in the bag. It was pretty basic, just a slim textbook on robotics and one on chemical engineering, and about twenty pens. And his notebook, the one he was always drawing in. Roxanne held it in her hands, her curiosity taking over. At the far end of the hall Dr. Mirfak pulled out his cell phone and began talking to someone, presumably an ambulance or something. She put Megamind's notebook on her stack of books, scooped up his pack and half ran all the way to her locker, two wings away.

Someone was waiting for her. She resisted the urge to groan as she recognized the pudgy kid leaning against the locker banks. "Hal." A sigh escaped her as she spun the combination. "Listen, I've had a bad day, I can't talk right now."

Hal awkwardly moved from leaning against the lockers to standing and back to leaning again. "I totally understand. Today was like, the worst day ever, right?" Roxanne made a noncommittal noise as she threw all of her books and Megamind's backpack into her locker. She held on to his notebook, intending on looking it over later. The rest of his stuff she could give to him tomorrow.

"...And you weren't there, so I was all, where did she go? I didn't see you get on the bus..." Hal had apparently been rambling nonstop, not even bothering to see if she was paying attention. He continued to talk at her as he followed her out of the school to the bus stop, but over the year she had gotten pretty good at ignoring him. Her brain felt miles away from her in the aftermath of the whole afternoon, leaving her feeling slightly drained and disoriented. Without even saying goodbye Roxanne stepped on the next bus, leaving Hal talking to the thin April air.

She settled herself near the back of the bus with Megamind's notebook. It was worn and heavily used, the cardboard cover stained with coffee rings and a small stain of what looked like oil. Roxanne leaned her head against the frosting plastic window and opened the notebook.

The first few pages were filled with indecipherable math equations, and Roxanne skipped over those without attempting to understand them, turning each page slowly. It seemed Megamind had a tenancy to press his pen into whatever he was writing, making the pages rough with the braille-like texture of his elegant scrawling. The next page had a detailed diagram of a robotic arm, measurements and other notes depicting how it moved. Roxanne stared at it for a second, then watched her own hand flex and curl a few times. There was another couple of pages of equations, and what looked like the beginnings of notes for an English class. All he had written was 'Romeo and Juliet: tragedy or comedy? Ask Minion.' Hilariously the 'comedy' was circled, and underneath Minion was sketched out, his fins and tail light and unfinished. Minion was giving a toothy grin that seemed a bit teasing to Roxanne. She smiled back at the picture, and turned the page.

Just what had she been doing in his little lab anyway, playing poker with two aliens and singing along to bad rock from the nineties? He had never seemed threatening to her, but then again, if he had actually been blowing up parts of the school on purpose all these years she could have been in real danger. She snorted to herself, and an old woman with groceries peered over her glasses at her from the front of the bus. So far the only people to hurt her were, well, just the zombie really. Megamind had done quite the opposite, and she rubbed her nose, remembering the feel of his face so close to hers. The pages of the notebook crinkled as she carefully flipped through them. There was about six or seven pages of detailed sketches of Minion's current robot body, some of them heavily revised and some parts obviously never made it to the final design.

The next page looked like a doodle war between Megamind and Minion. There was a shaky picture of a typical little house with a chimney and flowers, and overlain in Megamind's heavy lines was a missile blowing up the whole scene. Roxanne laughed at the progression of happy things made to catch on fire, imagining the scene of the two testing Minion's robot and then bickering over his choice of drawings. A few more pages of calculations; a sketch of a car; the lyrics to 'Thunderstruck'; a doodle of Xiphias screaming that was little more than a circle with arms and legs; a complicated chemical formula; Megamind was obviously very bored in class. Every once in a while there was a note that didn't quite fit, most often about literature or history; subjects that Megamind did not immediately excel in.

The bus jolted over a pothole and Roxanne looked up, checking out the window for a few minutes to make sure she had not passed her stop. Snow was starting to fall again, making drivers and pedestrians alike glare at the sky with open hostility. Roxanne's breath fogged on the window and she drew a little smiley face out of habit. She always loved snow, and hopefully there would be enough to cover the rejected Prom nonsense on the football field by tomorrow.

The next few pages were written in pencil, which Megamind clearly did not like. The writing was smeared and unreadable, and it switched back into pen in the middle of a word. Roxanne wondered if Dr. Mirfak would be able to determine some sort of personality trait from this, like Megamind wanted to be permanent or something more psychological sounding. Or maybe he just preferred pens. She frowned, thinking about the homework she had abandoned in her locker with Megamind's stuff. Absently she turned a page; it wasn't like she would have been able to concentrate on it. More equations, more designs of things of things that amazed her, more obvious boredom. There was a page titled 'Conversations' although every line underneath was crossed out and scribbled over. At the very bottom there was a tally that said 'rejections' with seventeen marks. Roxanne considered the crossed out lines, trying to decipher them, even flipping the page over to try and read the impressions they left. However, the subject of the next page had her forget entirely about 'conversations.'

It was a drawing of her. And it was really good. Her head was in her hand, a dreamy, far away expression on her face. One leg was tucked up under her in her seat, her shoe falling off the heel; the drawing was most likely done in one of their shared classes. She stared at the page, dumbfounded. This explained all the hand-holding and almost-kissing, from his side anyway. Flipping through the pages quicker now, she found little sketches of herself sprinkled in with all the science and engineering mumbo-jumbo. There was one of her typing, her tongue poking out of the side of her mouth. Her laughing at something; her reading a textbook with a bored expression. He seemed to catch her at her quirkier moments, all of them sketched within a class period. There was a few other people in between the notes as well, one of Metro Dude with his mouth half open, the chemistry professor with an explosion that had been embellished with spirals and lightning. There was another full page detailed drawing of some man with a mustache she didn't know, and lots of Minion. Other than her, Minion was the most reoccurring drawing, and like all the others he was caught in expressions most people probably didn't see. The last page had two half finished sketches of her again, one where she looked dully irritated and another where she looked outright venomous. From lunch and detention, she guessed. She sped through the blank pages in the back with her thumb, but they were all clean.

The notebook closed itself with a light thump. Roxanne stared at the back cover, wondering if the surprises would ever end. Her stop flew by in a haze of snowflakes and car exhaust and she decided that no, she was destined to be trapped in a series of day-ruining bombshells for the rest of her life.


End file.
